Announcing the launch of the
Chrysalis Housing Impact Accelerator

The Affordable Housing Institute (AHI) is excited to announce that we are launching the Chrysalis Housing Impact Accelerator as an intensive hands-on engagement between AHI and emerging housing entities, and their leaders, to accelerate their growth, reach, expansion potential, and impact.

The world urgently needs more positive-impact housing entities.

For over 20 years, AHI has studied and worked in emerging markets, where the supply of and access to quality affordable and sustainable housing is especially challenging.  We’ve developed, used, and provided methods and tools to improve many aspects of housing ecosystems around the world.  Now we are broadening the impact of this thoughtware by working directly to build the capacity of emerging entities that wish to engage in increasing the availability and accessibility of sustainable affordable housing in their markets.

“Everything we’ve done for two decades has positioned us to launch Chrysalis. It’s a game-changer for AHI and it will be a game-changer for its participants.”
David A. Smith, Founder of AHI

The Chrysalis Housing Impact Accelerator will boost participating entities’ growth.

What Silicon Valley has done for tech entrepreneurs, we will do for housing social entrepreneurs.  We will find and hand-pick highly promising candidate entities that have a proven commitment to deliver affordable housing using sound economic and sustainability principles. Then we’ll work with them to scale up delivery, visibility, and impact to meet the needs of families today, and into the future.

Chrysalis will be intense, immersive, cohort-based, and transformative.

Through an intensive engagement (6-9 months), based principally in the companies’ home markets, Chrysalis will:

  • Provide a wide range of training, tools, peer networking and one-on-one coaching.
  • Hone participants’ management skills, promote new thinking about green product design and market fit, and strengthen risk assessment and risk mitigation.
  • Help them identify and manage real world challenges they face now and in the future.
  • Prepare them for growth and new investment.

Our objective is growth-readiness and capital-readiness.

Though impact investors and development finance institutions have large blocks of capital to deploy in this space, persuading them to put it into nascent or rapidly evolving entities is challenging.  The providers, understandably, have robust requirements for financial and risk management, environmental and social responsibility, and quality construction execution. They seek confidence that their money will empower a transparent team that can execute on time, on budget, and right through offtake and operations.

Chrysalis will prepare companies to leverage strategies for market impact and innovation to engage successfully with like-minded investors and generate growth in returns and valuation of the company.

Chrysalis will work with annual cohorts of similar peers.

Our first cohort will be supply-side entities, chiefly housing developers.  The group is being selected now to bring together complementary entities (for maximum peer-to-peer learning) operating in regionally similar, but geographically separated, markets (for maximum confidence in sharing with peers).

Future cohorts will be organized around themes of entities active in both housing value chains, potentially including demand-side actors who help unlock housing finance for the unbankable, or new innovators bringing positive disruptions in proptech, fintech, or teaming arrangements with government.

Chrysalis seeks brave and ambitious changemakers.

Chrysalis is about managing real world challenges and enabling companies to build their organization, refine and improve their business model, and raise the capital they need to pursue their expansion goals.  We want to work with companies who are ready to transform their potential and catalyze greater impact.

Debra Erb, a global leader in housing finance, will lead Chrysalis.

Debra Erb, Director of Chrysalis

We are thrilled to have recruited Debra Erb as the Director of Chrysalis. Debra served for 21 years as the Managing Director of Real Estate Project Finance for the United States Development Finance Corporation (USDFC). She and her team closed more than $3 billion in debt financings in 29 countries around the world, including capital markets transactions, construction project finance, mortgage facilities and lease-purchase facilities.  She recently led the approval and commitment of a $180 million facility to support student housing in Kenya.

“At DFC we had to conduct full diligence on 150 deals and preliminary vetting for literally hundreds more in order to close 50.  That is not an efficient way to mobilize capital.  This is why I am passionate about Chrysalis – I want to build a network of highly qualified companies that can deliver the product that impact investors want while efficiently navigating the complexities of international capital-raising.”
– Debra Erb

If you’re interested in staying connected as Chrysalis launches, email chrysalis@affordablehousinginstitute.org.


Frequently Asked Questions

Why is AHI launching this initiative?

The scale of compounding housing deficits that afflicts most markets today continues to grow – despite significant progress in lowering construction costs, de-risking project execution strategies and accessing project capital.

AHI is launching the Chrysalis Housing Impact Accelerator to transform and catalyze impactful housing entities and connect them with entrepreneurial knowledge, institutional frameworks, and private capital to upscale housing for all.

How is this different than an intensive course on housing development or business management?

Chrysalis is creating an academy for housing practitioners in rapidly urbanizing markets. The purpose is to align the growth ambitions of emerging market housing developers with investor capital required to build effective organizations and quality affordable housing projects. Chrysalis will meet entities where they are at and create a customized path of support – including classes, mentorship, and coaching – to help entities find the best path to growth, impact, and investment within their particular market.

How do I apply to participate in the Chrysalis Housing Impact Accelerator?

We will be soliciting applications over the next few months. If you are interested in being considered please email chrysalis@affordablehousinginstitute.org with a brief description of your company and impact focus area.

How long is the accelerator program for a participating entity?

Entities will actively participate for 6-9 months. Post-participation support will also be available to participating entities on an as-needed basis, along with opportunities to stay connected to an alumni network.

What is the format of the engagement for participants?

Enrollees will experience a combination of cohort-based classes, workshops, and events, as well as many and varied one-on-one sessions.

How can I get involved to support or mentor participating entities?

Email chrysalis@affordablehousinginstitute.org with a description of your expertise and interest.


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